Last reviewed 30 October 2026. General guidance, not legal advice.
Describe the job well
- Which rooms or walls, and roughly how big.
- What is on them now: paint, wallpaper, bare plaster, wood, render.
- Cracks, damp patches or flaking paint.
- Ceilings, woodwork, doors and radiators: in or out?
- Colours and finish, and who buys the paint.
What a quote should say
- The preparation: filling, sanding, priming, stripping paper.
- How many coats, and the paint brand and finish.
- Moving and covering furniture and floors, and the daily clean-up.
- How many days, the start date, and when payment is due.
Older homes and lead paint
Homes built before about 1960 may have lead in old paint layers. Dry sanding or burning it off makes harmful dust and fumes. Ask the decorator how they will deal with it, and keep children and pregnant people away from the work.
Outside work
Painting outside needs dry weather and safe access: ladders, a tower or a scaffold. Ask what the price includes for access and repairs to render or wood, and what happens if rain stops the job.
Before you hire
There is no legal register for decorators. Some belong to the Painting and Decorating Association or to TrustMark. Ask for public liability insurance, and look at photos of their recent work.